We present the generalization to three dimensions of the discrete wave number representation method of Bouchon and Aki (1977). The method is developed to study the near field of a three‐dimensional seismic source embedded in a layered medium. The elastic wave fields are represented by a superposition of plane waves propagating in discrete directions. The discretization is exact and results from a periodic two‐dimensional arrangement of sources. The accuracy of the method is checked, in the case of a rectangular dislocation source radiating in an infinite medium, by comparing the results obtained with Madariaga's (1978) exact solution. Examples of the calculation of strong ground motion produced by a thrust fault and a strike slip fault are presented.
The 2001 Kunlunshan earthquake was an extraordinary event that produced a 400-km-long surface rupture. Regional broadband recordings of this event provide an opportunity to accurately observe the speed at which a fault ruptures during an earthquake, which has important implications for seismic risk and for understanding earthquake physics. We determined that rupture propagated on the 400-km-long fault at an average speed of 3.7 to 3.9 km/s, which exceeds the shear velocity of the brittle part of the crust. Rupture started at sub-Rayleigh wave velocity and became supershear, probably approaching 5 km/s, after about 100 km of propagation.
Laboratory and theoretical studies suggest that earthquakes are preceded by a phase of developing slip instability in which the fault slips slowly before accelerating to dynamic rupture. We report here that one of the best-recorded large earthquakes to date, the 1999 moment magnitude (M(w)) 7.6 Izmit (Turkey) earthquake, was preceded by a seismic signal of long duration that originated from the hypocenter. The signal consisted of a succession of repetitive seismic bursts, accelerating with time, and increased low-frequency seismic noise. These observations show that the earthquake was preceded for 44 minutes by a phase of slow slip occurring at the base of the brittle crust. This slip accelerated slowly initially, and then rapidly accelerated in the 2 minutes preceding the earthquake.
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